Research has identified that long term use of medications for treatment of obesity in patients has resulted in many problems. The two most significant problems encountered by patients using medications to assist in weight loss, assuming the absence of irreversible side effects from the medications, are that:
The medications stop working during therapy where at least 40% to 50% of patients quit losing weight (plateau) on an average of 3.3 months into therapy; and 5% to 8% of patients who receive drug therapy for weight problems experience the complication where the medications fail to assist in appetite suppression where the patient therefore does not lose significant weight.
In the past long term treatment, defined as treatment longer than 3 months to many years, with medications, has raised safety issues including, medication intolerability by the patient, medication side effects and most important ineffectiveness of the drugs or the cessation of benefit of the drugs which in turn causes the patient to fall out of appetite suppression and terminate weight loss.
A weight loss procedure using SSRI medication is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,895. The potential for patients to obtain goal weight loss under the process of U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,895 is low, and the failure of the drugs to provide a desired level of performance is at the heart of the problem.
In the past obesity or weight management procedures, as noted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,895, implement a single dosing schedule of SSRI medication for a patient. A single dosing schedule of SSRI medication is not optimal for a desired level of weight loss performance. Individuals frequently fail to lose a desired amount of weight when alternative doses of medication are unavailable.
Second, patients receiving treatment for weight loss through the use of medication frequently experience complications such as a cessation of performance of the medication due to a xe2x80x9cnutritional deficiencyxe2x80x9d. Frequently it is difficult to predict which patients are likely to experience unacceptable performance of weight loss medication due to xe2x80x9cnutritional deficienciesxe2x80x9dassociated with calorie deficit""s.
It is also problematic to predict the outcome of medication treatment upon individuals receiving Norepinephrine medications such as Phentermine and/or Diethylpropion. These medications have unique chemical properties making the outcome of treatment of patients uncertain. In addition not all medications function to assist in weight loss. In the past SSRI (selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) medications which have been used in weight loss include Fluoxetine Hydrochloride (Prozac), Sertraline (Zoloft), Fluvoxamine Maleate (Luvox), and Trazodone Hydrochloride (Desyrel).
The treatment programs for obesity as known also teach away from the use of alternative dosing procedures to effectuate weight loss. Specifically U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,895 teaches that an SSRI medication never needs to be raised to improve the anorexiant effect of weight loss and that the SSRI medication level administered to a patient may be raised to assist in the treatment of coexisting conditions such as depression.
It is therefore desirable to have a weight loss treatment program for a patient which provides for an effective therapeutic range of available medication to enhance desired weight loss. It is also desirable to provide a weight loss program which minimizes the percent of individuals who do not initially respond to the medication treatment regime or who cease to continue to receive the beneficial effects of the weight loss program following the initiation of the medication treatment due to nutritional deficiencies. These and other problems are solved by the disclosed Comprehensive Pharmacologic Therapy For Treatment Of Obesity.
A problem has been known in the past where drugs which work on norepinephrine stop working after a period of time when used in treating patients for weight loss. As stated in Wurtman et. al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,312.
Indirect-acting sympathomimetic amines (such as Phentermine) function by releasing stored norepinephrine from sympathetic nerve endings. The major problem with their use is that after a few doses, they often stop functioning, i.e., tachyphylaxis sets in. Tachyphylaxis is known to be associated with partial depletion of the norepinephrine in the nerve endings, leading to the supposition that there are releasable and non-releasable pools of norepinephrine and that when the drugs cease functioning, it is because the releasable pools have been severely depleted.
The chemical pathway involved is: 
Dopa, doparnuie, norepinephrine, and epinephrine are known as xe2x80x9ccatecholaminesxe2x80x9d. Chemically the enzyme xe2x80x9cTyrosine Hydroxylasexe2x80x9d limits the rate of formation of catecholamines. Another problem as known is to identify a way to increase the amounts of Tyrosine Hydroxylase or it""s activity in a patient receiving treatment for obesity. No procedure is known which uses a dietary precursor approach to increase amounts of Tyrosine Hydroxylase and it""s activity in a patient receiving treatment for obesity. No procedure is known to increase catecholamine levels in a patient by providing the precursor needed for the formation of Tyrosine Hydroxylase.
Catecholamine formation is regulated by a feed back loop involving norepinephrine and Tyrosine Hydroxylase. In this loop norepinephrine binds to each of the four legs of the Tyrosine Hydroxylase enzyme and through the mechanism of phosphorylation the norepinephrine deactivates Tyrosine Hydroxylase into a new chemical known as xe2x80x9cphosphorylated Tyrosine Hydroxylasexe2x80x9d. In the process the body begins to synthesis more Tyrosine Hydroxylase.
A complication in the treatment of patients for weight loss is that drugs which are given to increase the levels of intersynaptic norepinephrine lead to increased phosphorylation of Tyrosine Hydroxylase which, in turn, causes increased synthesis of Tyrosine Hydroxylase and depletion of critical precursors. The net effect of drugs which cause increased intersynaptic levels of norepinephrine for a patient is the depletion of precursors need in the synthesis of Tyrosine Hydroxylase leading to the xe2x80x9ctachyphylaxisxe2x80x9d.The provision to a patient of the precursor Tyrosine with co-factors vitamin C, calcium, and vitamin B6 will not prevent or reverse the tachyphylaxis induced by drugs which cause increased levels of intersynaptic norepinephrine.
The invention embodies the use of Phentermine and/or Diethylpropion with an SSRI medication, Citalopram. The SSRI medication is used in an xe2x80x9ceffective therapeutic rangexe2x80x9d to provide optimal results. The treatment enables individuals to have a much higher expectation of weight loss to achieve a desired weight than the previous known treatments. The method of weight loss enables individuals to lose weight optimally and safely. With treatment, as individuals lose weight other diseases or illnesses caused by or associated with weight problems get markedly better or resolve completely. These illnesses and/or diseases are identified as type II diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, orthopedic problems, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, migraine headaches, PMS, chronic pain states, fibromyalgia, insomnia, sleep apnea, impulsivity, obsessive compulsive disorder, and myoclonus. Duration of treatment may be long term, or for life if needed, to reduce weight and maintain weight loss as desired by an individual.
The treatment of a patient for weight loss may include the use of Cysteine with precursors Tyrosine, 5-Hydroxytryptophan, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and calcium. Use of the precursors and co-factors of Cysteine generally insures that adequate direct precursors are available to increase catecholamine levels for a patient prolonging the effectiveness of medication therapy.
An advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity of relatively simple and inexpensive design which fulfills the intended purpose of appetite suppression to enable weight loss without fear of injury to persons.
Another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which is easy for patients to initiate and continue to effectuate weight loss.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which is effective for all patients attempting to lose weight.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which continues to function to enable patient weight loss following the initiation of therapy by an individual.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which promotes appetite suppression while simultaneously maintaining nutritional balance for an individual.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which minimizes risk of undesirable side effects for a patient.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which may be used long term defined as a period of time exceeding three months.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which minimizes risk of medication intolerability for a patient.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which minimizes medication side effects and/or complications for a patient.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which assists in empowering a patient to achieve a desired goal weight through monitored, healthy, and controlled weight loss.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which is flexible to a patient""s needs through the provision of an effective therapeutic range of weight loss medication.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which minimizes risk of nutritional deficiency for a patient.
Still another principal advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which simultaneously treats other diseases or obesity related illnesses such as type II diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, orthopedic problems, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, migraine headaches, PMS, chronic pain states, fibromyalgia, insomnia, sleep apnea, impulsivity, obsessive compulsive disorder, and/or myoclonus.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the regulated prescription of an SSRI medication namely, Citalopram in an effective therapeutic range for a patient to effectuate weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the regulated prescription of Phentermine in an effective therapeutic range for a patient to effectuate weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the regulated prescription of Diethylpropion in an effective therapeutic range for a patient to effectuate weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the consumption of 5-Hydroxytryptophan by a patient in an effective therapeutic range to assist in avoiding nutritional deficiencies and effectuating weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the consumption of Lysine by a patient in an effective therapeutic range to assist in avoiding nutritional deficiencies and effectuating weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of weight loss which includes the consumption of vitamin B6 by a patient in an effective therapeutic range to assist in avoiding nutritional deficiency and effectuating weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the consumption of vitamin C by a patient in an effective therapeutic range to assist in avoiding nutritional deficiency and effectuating weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the consumption of Tyrosine by a patient in an effective therapeutic range to assist in avoiding nutritional deficiency and effectuating weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the consumption of a multi-vitamin by a patient to assist in avoiding nutritional deficiency and effectuating weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the consumption of calcium by a patient in an effective therapeutic range to assist in avoiding nutritional deficiency and effectuating weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which includes the consumption of Lysine in an effective therapeutic range to assist in avoiding nutritional deficiency and effectuating weight loss.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which involves consumption of citalopram by a patient for an initial six (6) day period of time at an initial dosage level where the dosage level may be subsequently modified after the initial six (6) day period of time to maximize likelihood of success of weight loss by a patient.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a comprehensive pharmacologic therapy for treatment of obesity which involves the monitoring of a patients weight loss progress through calculation of xe2x80x9clow weight lossxe2x80x9d as defined by a patient weight at a previous visit added to a patient current weight then divided by two (2) followed by multiplication by 10 and then less the current patient weight, less the patient weight at the previous visit, then multiplied by 3,500 and then divided by the number of days between the previous visit and the date of the current weight for the provision of a first sum; calculating a second sum by multiplying a patient goal weight times ten then divided by 0.8928; and comparing the first sum to the second sum where low weight loss occurs when said first sum is larger than said second sum.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss to reverse the undesirable effects of tachyphylaxis due to the use of a drug which increases intersynaptic norepinephrine levels.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss to reverse the undesirable effects of non-responsiveness to ongoing drug therapy.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss to reverse the undesirable effects which may arise where the patient has a history of exposure to toxins both in and out of the work place.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss to reverse the undesirable effects of fat stores becoming saturated with fat-soluble toxins which may leach into a patient""s system.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss to reverse undesirable effects which may occur due to leaching of fat-soluble toxins such as skin eruptions and depletion of the catecholamine system, where depletion of the catecholamine system may in turn cause tachyphylaxis.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided upon initiation of treatment in order to prevent a nutritional deficiency and to maintain the optimal functioning of all of the patients biological systems.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided to patients who are not responding to treatment with catecholamine drugs, to effectuate weight loss, or in any other setting where the catecholamine system of the patient is not functioning properly.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided to prevent and reverse tachyphylaxis caused from use of catecholamine drugs.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided to maintain the proper functioning of the glutathione system for the patient.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided to keep the catecholamine system of the patient functioning properly when the patient has a history of exposure to toxins.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided to help the catecholamine system to function properly in combination with the serotonin system.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided to insure that the body of the patient continues to produce optimal levels of Tyrosine Hydroxylase for proper function of the catecholamine system.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided to alleviate undesirable symptoms encountered by patients, once a drug which causes increased levels of norepinephrine in the synapse is terminated.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of Cysteine to a patient receiving treatment for weight loss where Cysteine is provided to restore appetite suppression in patients in weight loss where the patient has experienced problems using the precursors and co-factors of Tyrosine and/or 5-Hydroxytryptophan.